Posts Tagged ‘Zhong Nan Hai’

If you aren’t yet familiar with Wale, you will be soon — not least because I’ll be writing about him next week — because he’s been primed to blow up for two years now, inching closer and closer to stardom. Having revealed that I’ll be bringing you a piece on Wale next week, I won’t reveal too much about the Washington D.C.-born, ex-college football playing MC in today’s picks. But what I am revealing is the year-old gem, “W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E.,” which first appeared on Wale’s 2007 mixtape 100 Miles & Running, and says a lot about the artist by itself. For one, it shows Wale’s a lyricist, not just a rapper — his intelligent wordplay covers a wide array of subjects from music and sports to pop culture and fashion. But perhaps equally important is that this track displays Wale’s musically courageous and adventurous nature: he chose to rap over the French electro-pop group Justice‘s international dance hit, “D.A.N.C.E.,” rather than a typical Hip Hop beat. That takes some balls. S for now, enjoy the song, and look forward to hearing more next week.

2. Nas Feat. Keri Hilson – Hero

Look, there isn’t much to say about this song. It’s too damn good. “Hero” is the second single off Nas’ (highly-anticipated would be an understatement) upcoming, though still untitled, album set to drop a month from now. Produced by hitmaker of the moment, my man Polow da Don (aka King of the White Girls — sorry still love that nickname), “Hero” just bangs so hard despite it’s “softer” style R&B chorus sung by the up and coming Keri Hilson (see pick three). I expect this will actually be among the most radio-friendly of the cuts off the upcoming album, even though Nas spits his usual fire and Polow’s beat knocks harder than most (and I don’t care if he made it with GarageBand), it’s got mass appeal and is not as inflammatory as several other Nas tracks off the untitled album I’ve heard recently. But Nas’ flow is flawless and Polow came and “did his muhfuckin’ job,” as Jay-Z might say…..so just, damn.

3. Keri Hilson – Energy

Keri Hilson is someone in the music industry you can actually root for. She’s legitimately multi-talented (a real singer and real songwriter) and has spent years paying her dues by working “behind the scenes” in the industry. And it doesn’t hurt that she’s, um, rather attractive…..you know, physically. (She recently played Usher’s love interest in his “Love In This Club” music video). After seven years of writing songs for other artists such as Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, Ciara, Chris Brown, Usher, and Timbaland, as well as singing background vocals on some of them, Hilson has started to get out in front more and more, as a featured guest on Timbaland’s smash singles, “The Way I Are” and “Scream.” Now it’s her time to shine, with a debut solo album, entitled, In a Perfect World, slated for release later this year. And it looks as if all that dues-paying will pay off, as the album is executive-produced by Timbaland himself, has cameos by Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dogg, and Ludacris, and will feature tracks produced by Polow da Don, Danja, and The Runawayz, who produced Hilson’s first single, “Energy” an honest R&B-Pop crossover track with plenty of substance to go with its style. It will be interesting to see if Hilson can carve out her own place on the music scene when In a Perfect World drops since she’s a product of hard work and patience rather than yet another manufactured record company mannequin. If her prior work and first solo single are any indication, I’d say she’s got a great chance.

JustJake’s Picks

1. Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Roll Another Number (2003)

Well, it’s that time of year again. As I write this, more than a hundred thousand music lovers are gathering on a farm in rural Tennessee for a long weekend of live music, drug use, and more live music. In honor of Bonnaroo 2008, the mother of all modern music festivals, this week’s picks are taken from live performances from festivals past. The first track is one of my favorite Neil Young songs and even though in 2003 he clearly was not in his prime, this song still roars with rust. Young headlined that year and played in front of about eighty-thousand strong. Many were underwhelmed by his set but I thought it kicked ass. If you ever wondered why they called him the godfather of grunge, this song should pretty much answer that question.

2. Yonder Mountain String Band – Holding (2004)

YMSB, the Colorado-based bluegrass jam band, is almost synonymous with Bonnaroo in my mind. The freedom and happy-go-lucky spirit in their music embodies what the festival is all about. This tune, closing the band’s 2004 set is a cover of the great John Hartford’s awesome tune “Holding.” The song also happens to about trying to find pot, a perfect topic to close a Bonnaroo set with since that’s what a lot of the fans would be doing afterwards. Just a fun song and you can get a good sense of the love that abounds.

3. James Brown – I Go Crazy (2003)

Yes, James Brown played Bonnaroo. He even brought along about a thirty piece ensemble with everything from four guitars, to two bass players, to four backup dancers, to the obligatory dude-who-covers-him-with-a-cape. And what a show it was. Brown, into is seventies, showed that he could still conduct the tightest of bands, dance like only he and Michael Jackson can, and sing with as much soul as ever. It’s tough to hear in the live recording but his horn section was tremendous, all wearing matching rhinestone suits. Needless to say the crowd of music lovers was ecstatic. And that’s what Bonnaroo’s all about: great, eclectic music in a great, eclectic environment.

Carman’s Picks

1. Bush Tetras – No More Creeps

This pick isn’t too far removed from my ESG pick from last time. Just more bare and simple post-funk from the late-70s New York art scene that doesn’t get a lot of attention given how influential and prevalent its style is now. If ESG is what LCD Soundsystem could be, just think of the Bush Tetras as what The Rapture aspire to be.

2. Carsick Cars – Zhong Nan Hai

I had this band described to me as “the Chinese Sonic Youth,” so I’m sure you could picture how skeptical I was at first when I downloaded the album. Amazingly, it was about as spot-on as you could be. Hailing from that great hub of culture that is Beijing, Carsick Cars deliver a brand of indie rock that is the Yoof at their Geffen-era peak. A little bit of Sister-era SY and a good heaping of what were the better parts of Rather Ripped, and you have catchy and noisy indie rock that is great in any language. Naturally, they’ve opened up for Sonic Youth both at home and abroad, and lead-singer Zhang Shouwang is already a veteran of Glenn Branca’s multi-guitar symphonies. Look them up on MySpace.